M&M Mondays show documentaries and other films that are purposeful and thought-provoking, with plans to follow the screening with a discussion on the topic within the film. The lack of turnout has made both that and the passing out of free M&M candy ineffectual.

Created by Lisa Crumit-Hancock, Assistant Dean of Student Success, M&M Mondays began in the Fall Semester of 2018, making this the second consecutive year of its existence. Despite its establishment, turnout at the first presentation of the fall semester was zero.

“This (the lack of attendance) shows that we haven’t been getting the word out as well as we could be.” Lisa Crumit-Hancock commented. “Emails don’t seem to be cutting it, so we are very open to suggestions from students when it comes to marketing the event and getting the word out.”

“We kept the event going because it wasn’t costing anything really,” Brandon Ripke, the Academic Support Coordinator at Pilgrim Library, explained while he was setting up the first film of the semester. “Kanopy is something that Defiance College uses, so we figured that this could be a way to further implement it.”

Kanopy, as Ripke mentioned above, is a service for documentaries and films. The site’s byline claims it has a focus on “Classic Cinema, Indie Films, and Top Documentaries.” The Kanopy service is free for students with the use of their Defiance College ID. Every film that has been used for Meaningful Movie Mondays and that is planned for the future is hosted on Kanopy. To check out the movies available go to https://www.kanopy.com/ for free access.

The first showing of the semester was at 7 pm on Monday, September 9th. The movie was a documentary called “Girls Rock,” which followed a group of girls, ages 8-18 during a week-long stay at the aptly named Rock and Roll Camp for Girls.

The next showing of the semester will be on Monday, September 23rd, in the Media Room in the basement of Pilgrim Library, at 7 pm. The documentary this time will be titled “Geek Girls: The Hidden Half of Fan Culture,” and will “open up about the lives (of women) in the world of conventions, video games, and other rife-with-misogyny pop culture touchstones.”

Professor Jo Ann Burkhardt is a part of the Education department at Defiance College. She previously studied at Bowling Green State University, The University of Toledo and the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Science. She has a bachelors in education, a masters in administration and supervision, a specialists degree in leadership, a Ph.D. and a culinary degree–that was her favorite to obtain.

Professor Burkhardt is from the Cleveland area and came here for her first teaching job at Tinora Schools. Being in the area, she became familiar with Defiance College.

When Professor Burkhardt is not in the classroom helping students, she says she is a ‘fiber-artist-wannabe.’ She dyes fibers, spins, weaves, knits, sews, and makes dye baths out of natural ingredients.

Professor Burkhardt’s philosophy of teaching is that “all students can learn.” She believes, “you must teach who you get, not who you want or who you think you should. A teacher must accept everyone and help eliminate barriers [with] their students. A teacher has an active role in a student’s learning and needs to keep them engaged.”

When asked why she chose the education field, she states, “…I chose to become a teacher [because] at the time, there were not a lot of options for women. You could be a nun, a nurse, or a teacher. I went to [an all girls] catholic school, and so I knew [becoming] a nun was out of the picture, and I knew nursing was [out also]—so I went with teaching. And I’m so glad I did. It was really for me!”

In the current generation, Burkhardt wishes that colleges and universities had a voice in how they teach and structure their teacher education programs. “All teacher education programs across the United States are the same because we all have to teach the same stuff,” Burkhardt said. “Academic standards may vary from state to state, but in order to train teachers, you have to be accredited by a national body—and there is only one. In order for us to continue training teachers, we have to be approved by [the national body]. Licensure programs have to do things a certain way ”.

She actively helps students pave their way to success. Professor Burkhardt has encouraged many students to pursue their dreams by helping them along their journey to becoming teachers. If you haven’t had the chance to cross paths with her Professor Burkhardt, take the time out of your day to get acquainted.

Post Malone is undoubtedly one of the most popular and successful musicians of our generation. His music has topped the Billboard charts the past three years with hit singles playing consistently on the radio and streaming services. On September 6th, 2019, Post dropped his third studio album, Hollywood’s Bleeding. The collection features 17 songs, comparable to his other records.

Arguably, Hollywood’s Bleeding is his best work thus far. On this album, we get a “softer” version of his music. Post’s vocals range from his traditional raspy tone, a softer pitch, and a smoky howling voice. With the diversity in his vocals, changing from song to song makes the form of the album more attractive to fans. Post also has begun to use a soprano in a few tracks like “Allergic” and “A Thousand Bad Times.” “Allergic” features some alternative rock influences, similar to songs written and produced in the early 2000s, helping it to stand out from traditional-sounding Posty creations.

The album opens with the title track “Hollywood’s Bleeding.” The song discusses how rough the Hollywood lifestyle can be and offers us an insight into how Post feels about his lifestyle and the world around us. Other tracks like “Internet” provide us with insight into how Post thinks about how the internet has impacted our daily lives.

Other tracks like “Circles,” “Goodbyes (Feat. Young Thug), and “A Thousand Bad Times” discuss everyday challenges. The chill vibes of the tracks, from Hollywood’s Bleeding, are expected to be fan favorites.
Hollywood’s Bleeding also features an astronomical number of celebrity features including SZA, Meek Mill, Young Thug, Halsey, DaBaby, Travis Scott and even Ozzy Osbourne. Coming as a shock to most fans, Ozzy Osbourne is by far the most unique of the collaborations. Osbourne was Black Sabbath’s lead singer in the ’70s.

Osbourne and Scott are both features on “Take What You Want.” This track discusses wanting to be released by a toxic relationship. The mixture of artists on this track makes it one of Post’s most unique and different sounding songs.

The range of his vocals, diversity in the album’s features, and range of beats and influences make it stand out from his other work.

Students can listen to Post’s new album online using Spotify, Amazon Music, iTunes, or most streaming services.

Post also has a specialty line of Crocs and runs a music festival, PostyFest.

Defiance College’s 3rd annual Day of Giving will commence on March 14th where alumni, friends, and faculty and staff are encouraged to donate for the upcoming academic year.

Michelle Tinker, the interim director of development, describes the Day of Giving as a “24-hour period where alumni, friends of the college, and faculty and staff come together to make their annual gift”. Tinker establishes that the benefits that alumni experienced while they were students enable them to appreciate the ability to give back to the college. The Day of Giving helps fund scholarships and other programs on the campus such as athletics or the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity. Tinker discussed the desire to create a scholarship in honor of a late trustee and alumni, Tim Leuzarder. This scholarship fund collected a total of $6,682 from 25 different donors.

The event has grown from Phonathon, an event where members of the college would call to check-in with alumni and verify addresses and phone numbers. Following verification, the alumni would then be asked to donate financially. Tinker explained that with the changing in how people manage technology and how they respond to phone calls, the online platform for donations is the best way to stick with the times The online platform allows for those donating to choose where the money goes and to match donations made by others. The platform also allows for the sharing and advertising of the link to social media.

If interested in donating, visit www.defiance.edu/give and help fund programs and advancements that are being made to Defiance College.

UPDATE TO THE STORY: Thanks to generous donors, Defiance College was able to reach and surpass its goal of collecting $60,000 in donations. The Day of Giving accumulated a sum of $63,188 and that is only what was donated online. This sum does not include the donations that are sent in by mail or otherwise.

Defiance College is welcoming the Institute for Pre-Health and Wellness Studies to its campus this semester with hopes of bettering the college lives of its students.

In a newsletter similar to the one that will be sent to students soon, Dean Bridgette Winslow describes that the Institute’s purpose is to “provide prospective and current students with additional support in advising, career planning and graduate school acceptance”. The Institute is In an interview, Winslow established that she has a special place in her heart for student engagement and plans on working closely with both students and faculty as extra support to better the educational track of the students. The Institute will also work to share the number of opportunities there are for students interested in the medical field, as described in the newsletter.

The newsletter details five goals for the Institute including recruiting students for health and wellness studies, increasing retention, increasing research and internship opportunities, funding academic programming and developing resources for research through fundraising and grant writing efforts. Dean Winslow has already started working with students in an effort to move forward to these goals. She will also be working closely with undecided and freshman students in order to help start their careers on the right foot.

Winslow explains that she wants to start portfolios for students as they enter their freshman year and work to better set their foundation for the professional world. Winslow states this is necessary in order to “set yourself apart from another applicant”. Freshman will work with both their advisors for this goal. Then sophomore year, Winslow wants the students the Institute works with to start looking in the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity, potential research and internship opportunities. Along with this, the students will start to prep for Graduate school tests such as the MCAT or the GRE. Junior year the attention is more on developing the resume through more learning opportunities. Finally, in the senior year, the Institute will focus on developing interviewing skills and preparing to move into the job force.

With academic programming, the Institute is hosting and viewing and discussion of the documentary Icarus, a documentary on athletic doping and the Russian Olympics scandal at the Sochi Olympic Games. The newsletter, that will be sent to students shortly, details other academic programming opportunities that will be offered by the Institute.

Winslow states her biggest personal goal for the Institute is to “grow the number of pre-health and wellness students that we have on campus. I want to get out and expose the high schools to all of the programs we have and the quality of those programs”. She states, following meeting with the Molecular Biology students on-campus, that “I was floored at the level of compassion the students had and the passion that they had for their field”. She wants to further develop this compassion, that she states “comes from our faculty” and show the world just how great the programs are here at Defiance.

Dean Bridgette Winslow is a Northwest Ohio native, graduating high school in Bryan. The mother of three graduated with her undergrad at the University of Toledo in Sports Administration and later with her Masters there in Guidance and Counseling, focusing on athletes and mental health. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration at UT as well. Following a period of living in Minnesota with her family, she was made aware of the job offer for the Institute of Pre-Health and Wellness. She had previously worked at Adrian College as a registrar and later as the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs under Dr. Agnes Caldwell, Defiance’s current Dean of Academic Affairs. Following a job opportunity opening up, Dr. Caldwell contacted her about applying. Dean Winslow stated in her interview that she has a strong love for student engagement and the inspiring stories that Defiance’s students have to share stating, “the stories of our students are phenomenal”. Dean Winslow’s office is located across from the Registrar’s office in the Serrick Center.

Defiance College employees and student-athletes are weighing in on the dangers of supplementation when it comes to athletes.

Reed Guerin, an admission counselor at Defiance College and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, discusses some of his opinions when it comes to supplementing and collegiate athletes. Guerin stated that he does not find supplements to be “essential” to athletic performance in collegiate athletics. Guerin discussed some of the biggest issues that he finds when it comes to student-athletes and their supplementation. He discusses the “importance of knowing what you’re putting in your body”. Guerin stated that the best “supplements” student-athletes can use and place emphasis on are hydration, food, and sleep. By taking care of the body in these three things, the student-athlete will see better results in their athletic performance.

Head softball coach and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist Megan Warren stated that her biggest fear when it came to student-athletes and supplements is that “student-athletes might fail a drug test because they took a supplement thinking it was okay and it had an illegal substance in it. The supplement industry isn’t regulated so this happens more than people think”.

Students shared differing opinions on the issue.

Mason Rapp, a senior integrated social studies and history major stated that “as long as they aren’t steroids, I don’t care”.

Makenzie Wilson, a freshman nursing major, states that even though she “doesn’t do it, she doesn’t see a problem with supplementing athletes, assuming the supplements being used are legal and safe for the athlete”.

“It’s stupid and a waste of time. During 5 a.m. practices, the teammates who supplemented themselves prior to practice are hyper for practice and then fall asleep in class”, stated sophomore integrated math major, Hali Geraci.

One student voiced concerns regarding the supplements she was instructed to take by an online trainer. Erin Breece, a sophomore sports management major, stated that “certain supplements have side-effects that can cause major damage if not taken correctly. For example, I was told to take creatine and pre-workout. They didn’t make me feel any better athletically instead, I felt bloated and itchy”.

Finally, sophomore exercise science and psychology major Zach Johnson recognizes that supplementation is not essential if the student-athlete is eating and hydrating in the correct ways. Johnson added that “as long as student-athletes are being smart about it and taking the time to make sure the substance isn’t on the NCAA’s banned list, I don’t see a problem with people taking them”.

The NCAA publishes and updates a list of banned substances for student-athletes each year. This list includes substances such as stimulants, anabolic agents, diuretics, and street drugs. While the NCAA does publish an extensive list, it is still the responsibility of the student-athlete to pass a drug test. To view the list, visit http://www.ncaa.org/2018-19-ncaa-banned-drugs-list.

The Defiance North Clinton bridge that was set to be closed on February 14th for new construction has been moved back one week. For travelers who use the bridge, this is going to mean having to find alternative routes for your daily commute. What effect does the closing have on-campus living students?

With word of the construction spreading throughout the town I asked some fellow students about their knowledge of the bridge closing, as well as if they use it. It seemed that many students were aware of the bridge closing, and some of them said that they do not often use the bridge because they don’t have to go on that side of town that much.

Damion tall, a senior business student said, “the only time I use that bridge is to go to the YMCA”. Another student, Dev Goodwyn, a sophomore business major said, “I was unaware that the bridge was going to be closing” and went on to say that “I barely ever used that bridge”. The students that were aware that the bridge was closing typically were the ones that use the bridge from time to time. The project is projected to take nine months to complete and 8.3 million dollars. Whether you use the bridge, or you don’t, closing will commence February 21st.

Update: The official closing date of the bridge has been moved to February 25th, as per the Ohio Department of Transportation, due to high water levels on the Maumee River.